The Hopper
by Earthling
Summary: What're the consequences when a time hopper shows up on the ship? Nothing Spock can calculate..but everything that Bones could! Finnished! Please, please, please R
1. Default Chapter

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
My name is Deneb. I was named after a star. I always wanted to visit that star. I've never had the chance. I've never been to Deneb, no, but I've been to plenty of other stars.  
It started when I was sixteen. Actually, the day I turned sixteen. I had been dreaming of adventuring as a traveling writer. If I had only known that when I awoke I would be launched on an adventure through time and outer space, I may have stayed asleep.  
  
"Night, David"  
"Night. Hey, it's your birthday tomorrow" the fourteen year old boy smiled at his older sister mischievously.  
"Remember that did you?" Deneb Darling asked her brother from inside her door. She had to walk through his to get to hers and they had spent many nights standing just as they were, he on his side of the door, she on hers, throwing insults, homework assignments and family gossip back and forth.  
"Just" he grinned back at her. She knew he had something planned, he'd been playing tricks on her for her birthday since he figured out how to shoot a rubber band.  
"David you better not be planning anything nasty!" the nearly sixteen year old warned her beloved younger brother with a cocked eyebrow.  
"Hey, you two are supposed to be in bed" a deep voice said lightly. The two teens looked to see their father. He was a tall man, broad in the shoulders and kind in his discipline. The two children genuinely liked their father and respected him. He was an archeologist and ancient studies professor at a local college. The siblings had spent every summer since David had learned to walk in places like sandy Egypt, crumbling Greece, and noisy Rome.  
"We're going" David informed his father, who was now only a few inches taller than his son. Both males were brown haired and green eyed. Deneb thought they looked very much alike.  
"Daniel, why are you keeping these two up?" their mother joined the party. She was not tall, about 5'4", but was a certain beauty. She was well trimmed, though not thin, had hazel green eyes and beautiful chestnut- red hair that waved its way just past her shoulders. She always looked like she was smiling. Deneb knew that she looked more like her mother than her father, but she secretly had no objections.  
"Me?" Their father pointed to his own chest with an innocent look on his face, "Now, Dawn, you know I would never do a thing like that!" Their mother laughed and took his hand to lead him away.  
"Go to bed you two, or you'll be exhausted in the morning!" she commanded sternly, but with a smile. Daniel and Dawn Darling left their children to finish their goodnights and shut the door behind them.  
"Night, Neb" David said again with a conspiratorial wink and flicked his light off before crawling into his bed.  
"Night, Davie" Deneb smiled back happily as she shut her door and turned her own light off. She crossed the small room to look out the window, where a beautiful golden-silver moon hung over the branches of a red maple that were only just reaching the bottom of her window sill. She sighed contentedly, aware that she had a good thing going.  
And with that Deneb Katrine Darling went to bed on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, in a little town in Ohio, in March of 2003.  
  
"Hey! Hey! Kid, can ya hear me? Hey, kid!"  
Someone was slapping her. It was cold.  
"Hey kid, you'd better get up before you get hurt!"  
Deneb opened her eyes. A tall man was standing over her, bald with a big hook nose and a long, heavy fur coat. He had a bottle of something in his hand, by the smell of it strong stuff, and was offering her his hand. She suddenly realized she was lying in dirt and so took it and quickly stood up.  
"Here" the strange man thrust a coat at her. It was dirty but Deneb was freezing in what seemed to be the early morning dew which was soaking through her pajamas. She looked around. There were tall forest trees beyond what looked like some kind of refuge camp.  
"The name's Zephrim Cochran" the man introduced himself. Deneb was very confused as she looked up at him fearfully.  
"Where am I?" 


	2. Not Again!

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
AN: This story takes place immediately after season three. Think of it this way, if there'd been ONE more episode, this would've been it. (Remembering that the Enterprise's mission was a five year mission)  
  
My name is Deneb. I was named after a star. I always wanted to visit that star. I've never had the chance. I've never been to Deneb, no, but I've been to plenty of other stars.  
It started when I was sixteen. Actually, the day I turned sixteen. I had been dreaming of adventuring as a traveling writer. If I had only known that when I awoke I would be launched on an adventure through time and outer space, I may have stayed asleep.  
  
Deneb took a deep breath, as if she'd been under water nearly too long and had finally broken the surface. She gulped the oxygen in and felt it pushed through her blood stream, carried to the cells that were so desperately craving it. She was panting slightly now and shivering. It was always cold. Her vision started to clear but she barely needed it anymore. She used her senses to feel what was around her. She'd trained herself to. It was a dangerous universe. The floor was hard, not stone, not plascrete, but not as cold as metal.  
/A building or a ship then/ she thought to herself. Her vision cleared a little more with the helpful doses of oxygen. She was still lying on the floor, her muscles still frozen. She wouldn't be able to move for another few seconds, seconds she was going to make use of. There were walls and she didn't "feel" an opening, which meant she was probably in a room with the door closed. There were things in the room, but no people, always a boon in Deneb's case. Her vision cleared up with the last gulp of oxygen and she could see properly now. She quickly scanned all of the knowledge she had, trying to figure out where she might be. She tasted the air. It wasn't pure, but it wasn't quite the metallic, stale taste of ship air either. Still, she didn't feel she was in a building on a planet somewhere. The room was simple. There was a platform behind her with glowing circles on it. There was some sort of work station facing it. Deneb went around to the other side and scanned the control panel.  
"A transporter, I'd bet" she said aloud to herself. She shook her head to herself. She wondered how far she'd gone this time, how long she'd be there. She felt her throat tightening up with the need for water. The dehydration was setting in then. She wouldn't have long before her legs would start to wobble, before her arms would go limp, before she lost the ability to control the movements of her head and finally would faint dead away, where ever she was.  
This had many times landed her in trouble, until she'd finally trained her body to rush adrenaline through itself for just a few seconds after it'd happened so she could find somewhere to hide until she'd regained strength.  
"Damn it!" she whispered under her breath as her mouth went entirely dry. She didn't have long. There was only one door out of the room. Deneb took a deep breath and walked up to it, not surprised when it opened for her. She took a hesitant step out. There was no one in the long hallway that led both ways and curved so that she couldn't see if there was anyone coming. The hallway was a nice comforting nothing color. Deneb rolled her eyes. After a certain point they had reverted to the "comforting" tones.  
The girl took another deep breath and went to her left. There were doors on both sides of the corridor and they were all marked. They were an orangey color. She read the tags quickly. It was almost all crew quarters apparently. Deneb moved along more and more quickly, trying to get out of the residential area that would do her no good. She could feel her legs giving out on her and knew she'd really have to push it before her body collapsed beneath her.  
She picked up the pace, regretting the headache she'd have and the gallon of water she'd need when she did regain consciousness. Still, she couldn't be caught out in the open, vulnerable to whoever, whatever was on this ship. (For she was now aware that it was definitely a ship)  
"Storeroom" she stopped and reread the plate. What kind of storeroom would be on a residential block? Well, not the kind that would house anything hazardous. Probably the kind that not many people visited, unneeded furniture or extra blankets perhaps. Superfluous things. Perfect for her to hide among. She approached the door quickly and hurried through it when it opened obediently for her. Her legs were going numb and she didn't want to try to move her arms. She still had control of her neck muscles, a good sign. The room was full of barrels of who knew what type and some spacey boxes. She glanced around for somewhere to effectively hide herself. Well, at least almost effectively. The ship sensors shouldn't pick up her presence for a while, long enough to let her heal herself. She hoped anyway. Humans had a way of improving their technology.  
There were some boxes, behind some barrels, that were fairly close to a bulkhead. They were stacked high enough to hide her sleeping form, and her feet wouldn't stick out if she made herself curl. It would be difficult, in the two seconds it had taken her to decide on the hiding spot, her legs had seized up. She would have to use her arms to move them mechanically, and she wasn't sure how she was going to get her arms to move, but she would do it. She took a breath, desperately wishing for some water, and used her brain to tell the nerves in her legs to tell the muscles in her legs to move. It took a second, an amazingly long amount of time for the human body to react to a mental message. But she got one foot in front of the other, and then the second foot in front of that one and she moved herself that way until she was squeezed between the boxes and bulkhead. It had taken a tremendous effort. She now laboriously controlled her collapse to the floor. When she was done she moved one arm at a time to pull her knees in toward her chest. By that time she'd lost neck control.  
She passed out with her hands still about her knees. 


	3. Waking Up

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
++"Has the human race lost the capability to simply believe?"++  
  
"But what is she?"  
"She's human, far as I can tell"  
"Where'd you find her?"  
"In a storeroom on Deck Five. She was collapsed behind some boxes"  
"Collapsed. What was wrong with her?"  
"Sever dehydration"  
  
"Dehydration? What could have caused that?"  
"I don't know yet. I'm a doctor, not a..."  
"I believe your patient has regained consciousness, Doctor"  
  
There were three voices. All male. Never boded well. Men tended to be the least merciful. Though women had their own kind of inhumanness as well.  
  
"Wher..." she stopped and licked her lips, changing her mind about the question, "When?"  
"What did she say?" one of the voices, the softer one, asked.  
"I believe she asked 'When', Captain" another voice, this one slightly harder, but not cold. In fact, it was almost familiar.  
"When...uh..let me up!" Deneb demanded when she tried to sit up and found herself restrained.  
"Now that I understood. Bones?" None of the men were in her visual range yet but she could feel the restrains being lifted. She took a deep breath and slowly bent her body from the middle until she was sitting up. The world did not swirl around her which she was grateful for. She also realized with a start that she didn't have a headache.  
Now she took stock of her surroundings. She was obviously in a medical facility. Beds lined the walls with readouts above each. Most of them were unfilled. There were three men standing around her. The one her attention was drawn to first wasn't tall. He had darkish brown hair, worn shaggily and almost hanging in his blue eyes. He was wearing a frown and by the lines on his face Deneb concluded he often did. Still, he didn't seem to be the sort who was perpetually unhappy. In fact, Deneb got a sort of...contented...vibe from him. He was wearing blue and although she couldn't read the lines on his shirt she assumed he was the Doctor. She got that feeling from him as well.  
The next man was tall. Tall and thin. Tall and thin and......  
"Vulcan?" Deneb hoped her tone was detachedly quizzical and not did not leak the mixed feelings she was truly feeling. He nodded at her. There was something different about him, something that wasn't quite...Vulcan. Only one other member of his race had ever felt that way to Deneb. She trusted that feeling.  
The last man caught and held her attention. She was fairly sure he caught and held everybody's attention. He had that kind of vibe. (Deneb couldn't remember when she had started using the word 'vibe'. Probably when she had started getting them) He wasn't tall either, though slightly more so than the doctor. He was well built, probably muscular under the uniform. His hair was blonde and his eyes were blue...or were they? No, brown. Deneb couldn't decide, her eyes weren't up to the task yet. He had the look of a smiler, a suave sort too. He was smart, crafty and entirely too sure of himself. He was the Captain. Deneb decided she didn't like him.  
"I'm Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise" he told her, reciting the title as if he'd said it a million times. He probably had. But Deneb's breath caught. The Enterprise? Was she on the Enterprise? Again?  
"The Enterprise?" she repeated, letting just a bit of her astonishment into her voice.  
"Yes, you've heard of her?" Captain Kirk asked. Deneb sighed. She didn't want to tell the whole story here. She was tired and hungry and still thirsty, damn it! She needed a good chiropractor, she need, obviously, some new clothes and she really really need a bed and some sleep. Why did they always want to know "right now!" But they always did, so she nodded slowly, letting the three men, against her better judgment, see just how tired she was.  
"Probably not this one" she added.  
"What does that mean?" the Doctor, now recognizable as the "Bones" voice, asked.  
"Where did you come from, Miss...." the Captain trailed off.  
"Darling. Deneb Darling" she responded, feeling a little like James Bond.  
"Miss Darling. And you're from?" Kirk asked again. Deneb sighed. She rolled her eyes and fell back on her pillow, staring up at the ceiling.  
"A long way away and a long story in between" she answered cryptically. She still didn't know what kind of circumstances she'd been dropped in on. She was too seasoned not to be cautious and cryptic. Who knew what could've changed?  
"I see" Kirk replied. She could see him giving looks to his comrades.  
  
"I believe you had a question, Miss Darling" the Vulcan suddenly said, "When?" Deneb suddenly wondered if it had been such a good idea to ask that question. Sure this was the Enterprise but not her Enterprise and who knows what could've happened in between?  
"Yeah. What year is it please?" Kirk answered as if was surprised. She closed her eyes and counted.  
"Dang" she whistled when she'd come up with a number, "Nearly a hundred years this time."  
"A hundred years, what?" Kirk was asking, sounding a little impatient. But Deneb could feel the depression setting in. She didn't answer, she made no response at all. She just stared at the ceiling. She held a tear back from her eye and took a deep breath to stop the sob.  
/Enough of this! You're stronger than that, Deneb Darling! They unstrapped you, they aren't trying to cut you open, they aren't even bombarding you with question upon question! Get a hold of yourself, you can do this. You have to!/ She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.  
"It is a long story" she told them, "I'd appreciate some water and maybe some food before we started?"  
"Of course. I'll take you to some quarters" the Captain offered with a slight smile and a little inclining of his head. Deneb got up and followed him out of the medical facility (did they still call it a sickbay?) and noticed that the other two men followed closely behind, as well as a couple of men behind them in red uniforms with weapons at their sides. So, she was a security threat? Well, at least they hadn't shot first and thought to ask questions later.  
She followed silently as he led her into an elevator (he called it a turbolift. Whatever) and then down another corridor to a door marked "guest quarters." The doors opened and she stepped in. Well, they weren't spacious, but she'd been stuck in smaller. There was a bed, a table with vanity, compact drawers and she could see off to her right there was a bathroom area.  
"Sir?" The group turned around. A man in a blue shirt was standing with a tray of food. Deneb could smell it and felt her mouth watering. There was a huge glass of water on the tray too and she could almost feel it sliding down her throat and soaking through her body as if she were a dried out sponge.  
"Thank you, Ensign" the Captain took the tray himself and sat it down on the desk. Ignoring any kind of protocol or manners, Deneb quickly sat, drained half the water and started shoveling the food in her mouth, barely taking time to chew it properly.  
"Well, I guess she was hungry" Kirk said with a lifted eyebrow for his friends. 


	4. The Telling

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
++"Time is a lonely place"++  
  
As soon as the food had hit the bottome of her stomach, Deneb felt like she could've slept for another hundred years. But her hosts had been very curteous, the most curteous she'd come upon yet, and she didn't want to upset them unduly. The three of the men had stood there while she'd eaten, not speaking a word after the Captain's audacious comment that Deneb had not taken precious time to criticize. She put her fork down and glanced up at them.  
"Well you had better sit, I told you it's a long story and I wasn't kidding" she gestured to the bed. The Doctor and the Captain exchanged a look but they both took a seat. The Vulcan remained standing.  
"Typical Vulcan" Deneb whispered under her breath.  
"To what are you refering?" the Vulcan asked (she hadn't caught his name yet)  
"You're still standing" Deneb said. He seemed to miss the point but the Doctor picked it up.  
"She's got you nailed, Spock" he laughed.  
"You have experience with Vulcans?" Kirk asked.  
"Some. Not many to tell the truth but enough to know their type. All....stolic. Big bores most of em, and single minded too. Plus they don't like to listen to reason!" She watched the Vulcan, Spock, carefully. He raised an eyebrow but did nothing more.  
"See! Frustrating creatures. Plus, they're such condecending, arrogant little twerps!" Deneb added for good measure.  
"Hey, I like this girl!" the Doctor proclaimed.  
"Bones!" Kirk admonished and then turned back to her, "You said you were familiar with the Enterprise, but not this one"  
"Why don't I just start at the beginning, shall I?" Deneb suggested.  
"That would be logical" Spock commented. Deneb rolled her eyes.  
"As I said, my name is Deneb Darling. I was named after a star. I always want to visit that star. I never got the chance. But I've been to lots of other stars! It all started when I was sixteen. Actually, my sixteenth birthday. I was dreaming about adventuring as a traveling writer. If I'd known that when I awoke I would be propelled into an adventure through time and outer space, I might've stayed asleep. But instead, I woke up. Half way across the country from where I'd gone asleep, and about fifty years in the future!" She told the rest of the story, each of the places she'd been, what had happened to her there and how this "power" seemed to work. It wasn't really a power. She had no control over it. Still, they listened as if they were facinated, probably because they were. Most people were.  
"So, then I found myself on the Enterprise. I wasn't there long. But there was a Vulcan delegate there, Suvok or something, to speak with the one that worked there. Her name was T'Pol. She was the only Vulcan I ever met that I liked"  
"You knew T'Pol?" Spock asked. Did she detect surprise in his voice?  
"Yes. She was rather nice, actually. She didn't think of humans as...beneath her" Deneb shook her head a little at the memory.  
"I don't believe it" Kirk suddenly proclaimed. Deneb turned her head to look at him.  
"Has the human race lost the capability to beleive?" she asked in drolist.  
"No. That's not what I meant. I believe your story, Miss Darling"  
"Deneb"  
"What?"  
"Call me Deneb. Miss Darling is kinda annoying" Deneb interrupted him. He smiled.  
"Deneb" he repeated, "That wasn't what I meant. I believe in your story, I just...don't believe it"  
"Oh." Deneb nodded to herself, "Yeah" She could hear Spock saying "that is not logical."  
"Well, Deneb. What shall we do with you now?" Kirk asked. Deneb blinked.  
"I think" the Doctor said, standing and pulling Kirk to his feet to, "That we should let her get some sleep." Kirk looked at him.  
"I may not know much about traveling through time, but I know plenty about being severely dehydrated, undernourished and overly exerted. I have to deal with you, don't I?" Kirk laughed at that.  
"Right. Get some sleep Miss...Deneb. Just..hit this button when you wake up" he pointed and she nodded, thankful that she was going to get some sleep. She tried to paste a smile on her face as the three men went out the door.  
The Captain stopped, just before the doors closed, and looked back at her. 


	5. Meeting the Crew

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
Deneb knew someone was at her door before it chimed. She considered for an instant not admitting whoever it was, but then decided that would be rude. That was not a good idea right now.  
"Come" she called softly. The door opened and the Vulcan walked in.  
"Spock" she said without turning around. She could feel his Vulcan- self through her back.  
"Good evening" he responded simply. She sighed heavily, realizing he wasn't going to get to the point unless she made him, so she turned around and crossed her arms.  
"Well?" she asked impatiently.  
"Well, what?" Spock asked.  
"Well, what do you want?" Deneb rolled her eyes.  
"The Captain sent me. He wanted to know if you would like to go to the galley for dinner" Spock answered evenly. Deneb frowned.  
"How kind of him" She gave Spock a second look, "What're you really here for, Vulcan? You don't trust me, do you?"  
"I do not have a reason not to trust you" Spock replied. He was standing straight, with his hands behind his back.  
"No. But you don't have any reason to trust me either. The logical thing to do would be to hold any judgment until further evidence can be acquired" She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes.  
"That is logical" Spock returned. All of the sudden Deneb laughed. She was sure she had quite confused Mr. Spock, but he was so much like T'Pol it was nearly amazing. She too had fought with her emotions, though she didn't realize it as so. Maybe there were throwbacks in the Vulcan evolutionary line, Deneb thought. T'Pol didn't mind being around the humans so much. She had gotten used to the smell, the constant use of emotion, the erratic and very illogical behavior. And in fact, Deneb had deduced, she even liked it! And here she was facing another Vulcan, and underneath it all, Deneb sensed he truly enjoyed being among humans. He enjoyed their erratic behavior, their constant use of emotion and every illogical thing they did.  
Spock did indeed raise an eyebrow at the strange woman. As the Captain had commented upon, she was attractive enough with very long chestnut-red hair, green eyes a rosy complexion and full lips. She had finely arched eyebrows that Spock could tell were not "shaped", well defined jaw line and an indescribable nose. It wasn't particularly anything, not long nor short, wide nor thing, perky nor down. She had the look of a person who used to smile often and had little chance to anymore.  
"What do you find so amusing?" Spock asked.  
"You, Mr. Spock, you!" She stopped chortling, "You remind me of T'Pol"  
"I?" Spock could hardly believe that he would in any way remind anyone of one of the first and most successful diplomats in human history, except for the fact that they were Vulcan.  
"Yes" Deneb approached him, put a hand on his shoulder, "She liked humans too" She said and then walked past him out into the corridor. Spock raised an eyebrow and put that comment away in the back of his mind for further analysis later.  
"Well, are we going to dinner or not?" she asked. Spock turned and led her to the galley where the crew was enjoying their dinner. The Captain was nowhere to be seen.  
"Ah, Miss Darling!" The Doctor approached, "How're you feeling?"  
"Much better, thank you, Dr...." Deneb realized she hadn't officially caught his name.  
"McCoy" the Doctor replied, offering his hand, "Lenard McCoy. Let me introduce you to some more of the crew" He crossed the room, leaving Spock standing by himself, to a small group settled around a table.  
"Deneb Darling, this is Uhura, Communications Officer" The lovely black woman nodded serenely. Deneb knew she would like her. Well, if she stayed long enough to get the chance to anyway.  
"This is our Chief Engineer, Montgomery Scott"  
"Call me Scotty" the man held out his hand and Deneb enthusiastically shook it.  
"You're Scottish!" she exclaimed.  
"Aye, that I am, lassie" he grinned.  
"Ah, there's nothing like a good Highlander to have about a place" Deneb smiled her best smile. She immediately trusted Celts.  
"Aye! I think I'm going to like you, lass!" Scotty exclaimed happily, with a smug grin for his companions.  
"I entirely hope so, Scotty. I won't have it said I was disliked by any Scot" Deneb nodded emphatically.  
"And this is Yeoman Rand" McCoy nodded at the young blonde seated facing Uhura.  
"Hello!" she said gaily. Deneb bobbed her head back.  
"Well, what would you like to eat, my dear?" McCoy asked.  
"Oh, whatever" she answered distractedly.  
"Would you care to join us, lass?" Scott offered, pulling two more chairs up to the table for she and the Doctor. Deneb took a seat. There were other crewmen (and women) in the galley. It was apparently the entertainment facility on board. There were people playing games, playing music and singing, people just sitting around talking. The atmosphere was very relaxed, enjoyable. This was not the militaristic type ship the original Enterprise had been. Deneb breathed a sigh of relief. She felt somewhat safe here. She figured, at least, that no one was going to kidnap her for experiments. She'd gone through that one too many times.  
"Here you are my dear" McCoy handed her a tray with an appetizing dish and she immediately began to eat. She was quiet for the first part of the meal, just listening to the people around her, adjusting as quickly as she could to the new circumstances. But then her companions began to draw her into the conversation, mostly considerate about keeping to topics she would be able to hold her own in, like literature and music. Whenever they went off on something she'd never heard about she'd start asking questions. As a result she was fairly calm when the doors slid open and the Captain walked in. Her eyes were immediately drawn to his. He stopped just inside the door and looked at her for a minute. Deneb felt a new vibe enter the air, and it wasn't just him. It had something to do with her too. She didn't like the feeling to much.  
Then Kirk turned away and went to sit with Spock who was by himself. He ignored her for the rest of the night, Deneb noticed. She wondered why. 


	6. Where She Belongs

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
++"If you only knew what it was like to miss your life"++  
  
"I've contacted Starfleet about your...predicament. They do have records of your popping in on Captain Archer's Enterprise and several other instances as well" Kirk said, "You've had...problems with most of them" Deneb nodded. They were sitting around a table in a room just off the bridge. Spock, McCoy, and Scotty were there as well as a young man named Checkov. He was apparently ship's historian. He didn't know his history very well, in Deneb's opinion.  
"They would like to know where you would like to be...stationed. Back to Earth?" Deneb was startled.  
"You mean....leave?" she asked.  
"Yes, of course. You can go...anywhere you want. To the Deneb system perhaps?" Kirk smiled charminly at her. She frowned at him.  
"I've....I...." She stopped and shook her head, not sure how to respond.  
"I've never left the area where I hopped to" she told them, "I don't know if I can, truthfully"  
  
"Well, if you could...where would you like to go? Earth?" Kirk asked. He talked with his hands. Not always, but sometimes, Deneb had noticed. She'd already been on the ship for nearly three days. Uhura and Rand had helped her to make some clothes in the latest fashion out of material in stores. She wouldn't go for the short skirt and go-go boots (too 60's. Guess it was true that all fashions came around again) but she was outfitted in a cat suit with a nice tie-dyed over coat that went down to her knees. (The cat suit was black) They'd tried to convince her to put her hair up but Deneb had always worn it down her back and, because it wasn't excessivly hot on the ship, she stuck with the tradition. As Deneb reflected on the attire, she realized how different everything was. Not so different from her last stop, no. But much much more different from her home time. Go back to Earth?  
"I haven't been to Earth since...well since first contact. And I wasn't there that long. I still think of Earth in terms of the time I grew up in. I can't go back to Earth. I'd lose the only home I can still cling to"  
"Of course" Kirk agreed understandinly. He leaned back in his chair, out of ideas.  
"Where, then, would you like to go?" McCoy asked. Deneb shrugged.  
"I don't know. I don't know anything about this galaxy. I don't know anything about any planet, I don't know anything about....anything! I don't think I could function" Deneb cried. This whole idea of leaving the Enterprise had her very perplexed. It made her feel panicky, as if she were doing something she knew she shouldn't be doing and the consequences would be dire.  
"The logical thing to do, in such a case" Spock was saying, his fingers steepled, "would be for you to remain where you were somewhat familiar with your surroundings"  
"The only place I'm familiar with is the Enterprise" Deneb said absently.  
"Spock...are you suggesting she stay here?" Kirk asked, leaning forward in his chair again.  
"I believe it would be the logical course of action, Captain" Spock replied.  
"I think you're right, Spock" Deneb was nodding to herself, "I get a panicky feeling every time I think of leaving this ship" She looked up. All four men were looking at her as if she'd just said something completely inane and nothing to do with the point. She gave them a hard look.  
"I've learned to trust my feelings" she told them, "And I believe the fact that I've never before left the area to which I hopped is a good basis for the staying arguement"  
"I don't mind if you stay" Kirk emphasized the 'I', "But I'll have to check with Starfleet Command"  
"Do you have any idea how long you'd be staying?" McCoy wanted to know.  
"No" Deneb answered immediately, then thought again, "But it has been getting longer. At first it would only be a few days, but lately I've been staying weeks. The last place almost two months, come to think of it!" She didn't like to think of it. The time between Archer's Enterprise and Kirk's Enterprise was not anything she treasured.  
"Two months! Well, if you're going to be here that long we had better find something for you to do!" Kirk exclaimed. Deneb nearly gaped at him.  
"Do? Are you /kidding/ me?" What was he thinking?  
"Sure! What do you do?" he asked as if she were just some new officer he'd been assigned, but he wasn't sure what her speciality was.  
"I was /sixteen/ when I started hopping! I hadn't even finished /high/ school yet! I don't /do/ anything!" she exclaimed right back.  
"Well, you must be good at something" McCoy argued, "What do you like to do?"  
"I like to...write. I like to....act, direct. I'm good at music. I don't see how any of those things are going to do any good on a starship" Deneb sighed in displeasure, "I mean, what do you want me to do? Start a newspaper? A theatrical club?" There was always something about everywhere, every time, wasn't there? Here, they try to kill her, there they try to "study" her, then they want to pick her brains of any historical knowledge she had, now? Now they aren't torturing her, no, but she was facing two or more months on a starship, perfectly healthy, well cared for, and /bored/!  
She was missing something important. Kirk was giving Spock and McCoy a look.  
"That's not a bad idea" the Doctor said, "The crew are always looking for a little entertainment, some distraction in their off time"  
"Spock?" Spock raised an eyebrow.  
"It would serve as a moral booster" the Vulcan admitted.  
"I think it's vonderful idea, sir!" Chekov said exuberantly. The senior officers looked at his happily expectant face.  
"Very well. Deneb Darling, you are our new moral officer. You may start a newspaper, direct plays and musical events, as long as they don't get in the way of any of my officer's duties" Kirk announced prosaiclly, as if he were bestowing a great honor which she should grovel and thank him for. She just rolled her eyes.  
"Gee, thanks" She sounded displeased, but already the wheels in her head were turning. She'd do "A Midsummer Night's Dream" first, because she loved that play, and she'd have to start scouting for musical talent. Perhaps a Mozart night, then a jazz night, and some good old rock'n'role. As for the newspaper, she'd have to start looking for good stories. Perhaps do crew profiles, stories about any performances of course, maybe even a continuous short story? She could probably find a woman to do a fashion column, and did the men still pay attention to sports? Well, if they didn't then there was probably something else they paid attention to. Her mind was spinning with ideas. Maybe this could be a good thing! 


	7. Vulcan Meditive Postures

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
++"This is not logical, Captain"  
"It never is, Spock"++  
  
She could feel him coming. She sighed deeply and kept her eyes closed.  
"Deneb! What're you doing here?" he asked. It was an arboretum, what did he think she was doing there? Looking for a screwdriver?  
"There aren't any windows" she said, eyes still closed, still facing the empty bulkhead. She'd been aboard the Enterprise for a week. She'd already begun writing for her first edition of the newspaper (she hadn't come up with a title yet) and started auditions for her play. Scotty had directed her to a cargo bay she could turn into an admirable stage and theatre and had even told her he would get his hands on some materials for building sets. Everything was going so well.  
But she was still depressed. There was nothing for it.  
"Oh, nobody's showed you?" He was very close behind her and she could feel him lift his arm. She opened her eyes just as a panel, completely hidden in the wall, slid aside to reveal the stars beyond. They were zooming past but she stared at them none the least.  
"Oh!" was all that escaped her lips. She loved the stars. They were so poetic, and yet she never could find the right words to truly describe their place in her heart. She felt her soul lift and at the same time her heart sink at the sight of them. And she felt a single tear escape her hold and fall down to her cheek.  
"You're crying" he said softly. When had his head gotten so close to her ear?  
"No, I'm not" she denied. She never cried. If she started crying, she'd probably never stop. Some days, she still harbored the hope that she would wake up and it would have all been a dream. It would be her sixteenth birthday, David would play some dastardly trick on her, her parents would send balloons to her at school and she would be happy again.  
But not tonight. She couldn't make herself believe that tonight. And then his hands were on her shoulders and she was turning into his chest. Was he so tall? She hadn't noticed before.  
"You are" he said softly, again, using his forefinger to lift her chin so he could look into her eyes.  
"I've...never seen eyes like yours before" he said. She'd gotten the feeling he knew what to say to a girl, but not now. His vibes had all changed. She felt like he was being "real".  
"They're just green" she replied.  
"Not when they're full of tears" he told her. She felt her lip tremble. She felt a sob stick in her throat.  
"You must be lonely" he suddenly hit the nail on the head, "Always hopping through time, never staying anywhere long enough to really make any friends, have a family. Leaving any friends you do make" She had thought she didn't like him. What had happened to that?  
"You don't know how lonely time is" she said and then she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Years of frightened, angry, sad tears poured out of her body and down her face. He had his arms wrapped around her back and her hot tears were soaking through his uniform shirt. She felt like her whole being was being soaked up in the fabric. It was an ironic scene, such misery unfolding in the midst of such beautiful plants, with the stars looking on.  
"Nobody should" he told her, "No one should go through what you've gone through. She choked on a few of her tears and then crammed the rest of them back down her throat. She took a deep breath and pushed herself away from the comfort of his arms.  
"No. No one should. And I won't make you" she spun around, knowing she'd left him a bit confused, and raced down the corridor to her own room. She took a few ragged breaths, forcing the rest of her tears back inside the bottle they'd tried to escape from. Her life didn't have room for those kind of feelings. She couldn't allow herself to get involved with anyone, she couldn't let anyone get involved with her. No, they must not be grieved when she left again, for leave again she knew she would. Anger suddenly enveloped her being and she threw a vase against the bulkhead where it shattered, splattering it's blue tinted water across the taupe wall and sending the carefully plucked flowers careening to the floor where their delicate petals were crushed under their own weight.  
"It's not fair!" she yelled into the silence, glad that the walls were soundproof, "It's not fair, damn it! Why me! I was /sixteen/!" And then her feelings couldn't be describe with words anymore and a primitive cry crawled from low in her throat, gouging away at any peace she had won for herself. When it had ceased she found her body still flowing with adrenaline. She needed to do something, something more strenuous then throwing vases and screaming. So she tore off her "dress" and headed to the gym in just her cat suit. She would get hot quickly for it was tight fitting, but she didn't care. A good sweat, then a good shower followed by a good long sleep and she'd have a hold of herself the next day.  
There was no one in the gym, for which she was thankful. There was a boxing bag hanging off to one side and she grabbed the wrap that was sitting next to it and bound up her wrists and knuckles. She forwent the gloves and started pummeling the bag. With each punch she saw a different face: Suvok, the Vulcan, Dr. Teller, the historian, Dr. Laney the "biologist" and all the others that had caused her pain. And when those faces had faded the bag became the face she couldn't see, the face of that which had done this to her life. The one(s) who threw her from time to time, like skipping a rock over a pond. She pummeled the bag with her fists, with her feet and knees, attacking it with every ounce of being within her. And when that was done she fell to the floor, panting.  
"It is best to follow such extraneous exercise with a cooling down period" a firm voice said. Deneb looked up. Spock was watching her with his expressionless face, one eye brow quirked at her.  
"Is that so, Mr. Spock?" Deneb asked with a light chuckle.  
"It is indeed. Would you care to join me in some Vulcan meditive postures?" Deneb considered denying it and going back to her room for that cold shower and maybe a cup of tea. But something about Spock's voice made her reconsider. How many Vulcan's asked a human to participate in Vulcan meditive postures? She had a feeling T'Pol may have, but T'Pol never had the chance to offer.  
"Why not, Spock?" she replied, pushing herself to her feet. He nodded and went into a stance. Deneb stood slightly behind him and tried to follow his movements as exactly as she could.  
"You must bring your mind to peace" he said, not softly but quietly, "Notice all of the emotion in your mind. Notice it and put it aside. Concentrate on your breathing. See your breath, see the light that is your breath" Deneb closed her eyes for just a second to follow his instructions. She could almost see her breath as a white light, entering and dispersing through her body. Spock continued to coach her in his quiet, even voice as they moved through the physical motions of his meditive postures. Deneb could feel the anger and sadness that had wheedled its way through her systems fading away. It wasn't being put into a bottle and locked away, like usual, it was /actually/ leaving.  
"That is enough for now" Spock suddenly said. Deneb eased her body back into a relaxed position. Her body was lathered in sweat but she felt good. Better, in fact, then she had in a very, very long time.  
"Thanks, Spock" she said. He inclined his head.  
"You are welcome" And thus was the beginning of a long lasting friendship. 


	8. We Can

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
++"Just how old are you?"  
"Old enough to know better, too young to care"++  
  
A month went by. Then two. Deneb's newspaper was well received among the crew, and they greatly enjoyed the plays and musical performances she put together. She even found a few people who painted and convinced them to display some of their work.  
"I think every ship ought to have one of you, lassie!" Scott exclaimed after performing a series of Scottish jigs for a "packed house" Deneb smiled and chuckled a bit. She couldn't deny she wasn't enjoying herself, she couldn't deny she was the happiest she'd been since she started hopping. And yet a pervading sadness had settled in the back of her mind, reminding her that it wouldn't last. One day she would feel suddenly peculiar and she would disappear from this place, and arrive in another. And she'd have to start all over again. And who knew if that place would be as welcoming as this.  
She had continued to learn the Vulcan meditive postures with Spock, but she had found a kindred soul in Dr. McCoy who had told her to call him Bones.  
"You're not Starfleet so there's no reason a friend of mine shouldn't call me what my friends call me" he exclaimed. She found it sincerely pleasurable to simply be in his company, trading insults and banter back and forth. He told her stories about their previous missions, his exploits as a child and as a young man. The Captain often fitted into those stories and Deneb began to learn quite a bit about the man from those tales. Bones reminded her of David, her beloved brother, but (from the stories) Kirk reminded her more of her father, a man she deeply respected and admired.  
After the encounter in the arboretum, both Kirk and Deneb had done their best to avoid each other. Deneb because she could feel a certain "vibe" between them, and she knew what it would lead to. She knew what it would build into and she knew where it would end: with her leaving.  
Kirk had different reasons. The two months had been trying for him, having her so close and yet so far. He knew she was right to stay away, that any relationship would only cause them undo pain. He was familiar with that kind of pain. He was willing to risk his own pain, but not hers. She already had so much, he would not inflict even more on her.  
"You say you are in love with her" Spock had tried to council him one night.  
"That's right" he freely admitted. He'd always been one to fall hard and fast. But he felt different about Deneb than he ever had before. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but this felt more like what his mother had always described as that "happily ever after, through thick and thin" kind of love.  
"The logical course of action, then, is to pursue her" Spock announced.  
"I can't Spock! I love her too much!"  
"That is not logical, Captain"  
"It never is, Spock"  
But when another month had passed and she still hadn't hopped, as she'd predicted, he began to feel the strain. He watched her from a distance. She was popular among the crew, she knew everyone's name and she always had a kind inquiry to make about their lives. She smiled more, Kirk noticed, and it was a beautiful smile that lent its brilliance to the very soul of whomever it was directed at. She was dedicated and worked hard to put on the events she'd planned, and as far as he knew she'd never canceled or delayed anything she'd ever had planned. Kirk saw it this way; the ship was his love, the crew was hers. Oh he had pride in his crew, and every confidence and he'd die to protect any one of them, he'd ruin his name to prove them innocent of any fault. Yes, he was loyal. But there was a difference between his loyalty, the loyalty of a Captain, and hers. Hers was the loyalty of love and friendship. It wasn't something he could compete with, nor did he want to. His crew would miss it were it ever to disappear, but he was already convinced she'd never hop again. Spock, had he voiced this belief, would have hurriedly pointed out that she had said her stops had been getting longer and so, though she'd now been on the ship slightly longer than any of her previous stops, there was no indication that her presence was permanent. Kirk pushed the logic to the back of his mind.  
He hadn't been planning on it, but when he came upon her in the arboretum, in the same place he'd held her in his arms while she wept, he knew he was going to do something about it. Enough suffering in silence, he told himself.  
"Still looking for the stars?" he asked quietly. There was no one else near by. She had the window panel open and was staring out at those heavenly bodies which were speeding by. She didn't bother to turn.  
"They're the only things that don't ever change" she replied, just as softly. Was she, too, tired of this strain between them? This unhealthy denial of "vibes", as she called them? Kirk didn't say anything, he just lifted a hand to her bare shoulder. Her long chestnut-red hair was flowing down her back over the azure colored vest-coat she was wearing. He could feel her lean into his touch and so he squeezed her arm, turned her around so that she was molded to his chest. He could see the fear in her green eyes, but he could see the longing too. The longing was winning out. He pushed his mouth down onto hers, crushing her tender lips beneath his, and kissed her with all the strength in his heart. And she responded. She was pushing back into him, winding her arms up around his neck, into the nape of his hair. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close as he could physically get her.  
He felt it just a second before she pulled away.  
"No!" she said, "We can't!"  
"Yes we can" he tried to pull her to him again but she resisted.  
"And what happens when I hop again?" she demanded.  
"Maybe you won't. Who knows? You've already been here longer than anywhere before. You could be here forever!" and he could feel himself believing in his own lies, his own false hopes. But she wasn't so quickly convinced.  
"And what if I'm not?" she wanted to know.  
"Then we'll both have something we can treasure forever" he said. It must have been the right thing to say because he could see her give. Maybe it was what he had said, maybe she believed it. But maybe she was just too lonely to stand life anymore. 


	9. To Ask or Not to Ask

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
++"I don't know if this is such a great idea"++  
  
While the crew hadn't noticed anything amiss, they suddenly noticed what they had missed. Deneb and Jim were discreet about their relationship, but people started noticing that he made it to every opening night and usually to as many shows as he could get to. They noticed Deneb laughing more, being more relaxed and they noticed that she didn't scurry away when the Captain walked into the galley. In fact, they noticed that he seemed to eat every meal with her. In other words, they noticed.  
"Jim, I've never seen her happier" Bones declared one night when Deneb was not about. The two men were playing rummy, a game Bones had taught Jim years ago.  
"You've only known her six months, Bones" Jim reminded his friend.  
"Maybe, but I've spent more time with her than you" Bones defended.  
"That, my friend, is changing" Jim smiled to himself as he put a card down.  
"Mmm. Yes, I've noticed" Bones replied, "And I'm not the only one. The whole crew can tell what's going on" Jim looked up, slightly concerned. It would not do for the whole crew to be gossiping about their Captain.  
  
"They're all her friends" Bones said, "They're happy for her" Jim shifted his eyebrows. He was suddenly unsure that he entirely approved of his crew's interest in his...his....companion. Girl. Wife? Had he about thought 'wife'? Did he really consider her as such?  
"What're you thinking about, Jim?" Bones asked, suddenly suspicious of his friend's expression. Jim didn't answer. He studied his hand.  
"C'mon, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a dentist" Jim looked up.  
"Dentist?"  
"I don't pull teeth!" Bones clarified, "Now, are you going to tell me what you're thinking or am I going to have to pull it out of you?"  
"I was thinking about Deneb" Jim admitted, drawing a card and discarding another.  
"There's a big surprise" Bones mumbled. He wasn't happy with his hand.  
"I was just considering asking her to........ug, never mind" Jim quickly changed his mind about confiding in his friend. He discarded and laid his hand on the table.  
"Rummy" he announced, hoping to distract Bones.  
"Damn it, how do you do that?" Bones exclaimed, flopping his own hand on the table. Jim almost thought he'd gotten away with it. But Bones was quicker than that.  
"You were thinking about asking her to what?" he wanted to know, and now there were no cards to use as distractions. Jim would just have to answer the question.  
"I was thinking about asking her to marry me" he said under his breath, hoping Bones wouldn't catch it.  
"You were what?" Bones said, though by his tone Jim could tell he'd caught it.  
"Are you out of your mind?" Bones was all up in arms about his "little sister" friend, "You're in your thirties and she's only....." And then something strange happened. Bones stopped talking. He stared at Jim for a moment and then sat back in his chair, which he had risen from to berate his Captain.  
"Actually, I don't even know how old she is"  
"Closing in on three hundred I'd say" Jim tried to joke but it was lost. It was true, he doubted anyone on the ship knew how old Deneb was.  
"And that's another thing!" Bones was up again, having latched onto a new idea, "You hardly know anything about her! Why, you don't even know how old she is! And have you even stopped to consider you're the captain of a starship? You think she's going to follow you around, on every mission?"  
"I don't see why she wouldn't" Jim replied, picking the deck up and putting it back into its box.  
"And what about if you have kids, huh? You can't raise kids on a starship" Bones pointed out. Jim hadn't thought of that. He did want children, desperately. And it was true, you couldn't raise kids on a starship. And he couldn't imagine leaving them on some planet (his mind immediately thought, Iowa, Earth) while he went gallivanting about in space. He wanted to be there for his children. He wanted to be with Deneb.  
"I just said I was thinking about it, Bones" he said aloud. After all, he had, hadn't he?  
"Thinking. Thinking for you is paramount to acting" Bones told him. Bones knew him well.  
"In your mind you might've well already said the vows" he added for good measure. Jim didn't respond. He sat at the table, looking at the boxed deck of cards sitting in his hand, wondering what he should do. He loved Deneb, truly, but could he ask her to become his wife? If he did, he knew he would have to give up the captaincy of the Enterprise, and he just didn't think that was something he could do. But he couldn't imagine going on without Deneb either.  
His heart had already made a decision but his mind was still fighting with it.  
"You could at least ask her how old she is. Maybe she's not even old enough to get married!" Bones said, a hint of an accusatory tone in his voice. Jim didn't get the chance to respond because just then Deneb walked in the door. She had her hair pulled back, but not up, and she was wearing what she called "jeans", denim pants, and a sort of uniform style shirt she had designed herself and Uhura had helped her create.  
"Hello, Bones!" she said with genuine pleasure in her voice.  
"Hi, Neb" Bones was the only one she allowed to use the special nickname her brother had given her.  
"Are you leaving?" she asked, a dash of concern and disappointment in her voice.  
"I think I better" Bones replied, "I'm a doctor, not a councilor" And with that he swept out of the room.  
"What was that all about?" Deneb asked when the doors had closed. Jim didn't reply. She ignored the silence and went about the room, straitening things and telling him about her day. When she was done she smiled and went to sit on his lap. She was very light, though she was not thin. (Not to say she was large, she was well toned, just not slim)  
"And how was your day?" she asked.  
"Not bad" he answered, brushing a stray bit of hair away from her face.  
"That's good" she murmured and kissed him lightly. Then she smiled and got up.  
"I have a play to direct" she said, "I'll be in cargo bay 4. Are we having dinner tonight?" she asked, though she knew the answer well.  
"Of course" he smiled at her as she winked and left. He sighed to himself.  
  
Later that night.  
  
"A success, my dear, as always" Bones smiled at Deneb. She smiled in return.  
"Thank you, Bones, but I, of course, had much help from the crew" Scotty had once again helped with the sets and they were, once again, magnificent. Yeoman Rand had turned out to be quite the actress and she played well with both Chekov and Sulu. The crew, as well as the Command Crew, always greatly enjoyed the results.  
Normally, Jim would have been up there with Bones congratulating Deneb, but tonight he hung around in the back, allowing her bask in the light of her accomplishment. She really did look young, Jim couldn't place her any older than perhaps 24, if he stretched it. The age difference, however, didn't bother him. After all, in all technicality she was at least two hundred years old.  
He wanted to ask her to marry him. He would figure everything else out later. Perhaps she'd be willing to put off having kids for a while so he could captain the Enterprise for at least a few more years. And then perhaps they could switch to a ship they could raise the kids on. But all of that could be left for later.  
What he was worried about now, was her response. The best scenario, of course, would be that she said yes, happily and without arguing. But he doubted that would happen, not when she was always so worried about relationships being destroyed when she hopped. Though she'd been here for six months, he knew in the back of her mind she still believed she would be disappearing any day now. If she said no, would he have ruined everything they had?  
"Come on, we have dinner waiting" he finally said, pulling her away. He would have to risk it. He had prepared a quiet dinner for two in one of the smaller meeting rooms near her quarters. She smiled with delight when he led her in. It was lit by candle light (not an easy thing to do on a starship) and fine "china" was set upon a perfect white table cloth.  
"What's the occasion?" she asked coyly as she took a seat. She was wearing an emerald outfit today and it enhanced the green of her eyes and vibrant reds in her hair.  
"You are" Jim answered simply, pushing her chair in after she'd sat. She smiled at him, but cautiously.  
"What're you up to, Jim Kirk?" He smiled but didn't answer. The meal went well, she laughed and Jim didn't think he'd ever seen her so lovely as in the candle light. It was as if she'd been made to be displayed in a candle lit room. Her skin glowed, her hair glowed, her eyes glowed. He sighed contentedly as he realized just how in love he was.  
"Deneb" he started, trying to mask this all important question in the shroud of unimportance, "How long have you been hopping?" He knew she had been sixteen when it had started, all he had to do was add. But she was too smart for him.  
"Why do you want to know?" she asked, suddenly defensive.  
"I was.wondering how old you were" he admitted. She sighed but her defenses fell.  
"Old enough to know better, too young to care" she answered. It was a cryptic answer, one Jim didn't care to consider.  
"I was wondering because..they'll need to know.to put it on a marriage certificate" He was looking straight at her. He expected to see some kind of change in her expression, but there was nothing. For a moment, he thought she hadn't understood. But then she pulled her hand out of his.  
"James T. Kirk, are you asking me to marry you?" Jim smiled abashedly.  
"I was trying to" he answered. She frowned.  
"Then do it right" she ordered. It wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting. He'd expected her to yell, to cry, to tell him he was crazy. He hadn't expected to be getting on one knew, to beholding her hand in his, to be presenting her with the ring he'd had a hard time getting his hands on.  
"Deneb Darling, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"  
"Yes, Jim Kirk, I will" she answered matter-of-factly and took the ring from his hand and slid it on her finger.  
"It's not a diamond" she said, admiring it on her finger.  
"No" Jim smiled mischievously, "It's a Denebian Emerald" 


	10. The Truly Unknown

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
++"Now see what you've gone and gotten yourself into"++  
  
"You are nervous" Spock said. It said it as if Jim didn't know it.  
"I don't get married everyday" Jim replied. Spock inclined his head, acknowledging the point.  
"Look at you" Bones added for good measure, "You spend you life dealing with hostile aliens and life threatening situations, and I've never seen you so nervous. All you have to do is say a few words! Maybe this isn't such a great idea."  
"Maybe it's just a few words to you" Jim muttered. Bones just grunted. He had taken on the auspicious role of best man, as Spock was the only person on board who could marry the Captain, being the next highest ranking officer. Deneb had drilled him intensely on how the ceremony was to be performed.  
"I'm Roman Catholic, I will have a Roman Catholic wedding" Spock had raised an eyebrow at her, "Alright, so you're not a priest, but I'm not likely to get one out here and you're the next best thing"  
"I am honored" Spock had replied. Whether he really was or not, Jim wasn't sure, but Deneb was happy and that was all that mattered. She had stoutly refused to see him last night, and during the three weeks it had taken her to "prepare" for the wedding, she had stuck to all the ritual superstitions involving weddings. He couldn't see her dress, she couldn't sleep over, and she insisted he help her with the menu and with the flowers.  
"There's one thing I don't know what to do about" she said one night, looking at a list she'd made. Almost everything was checked off as have being completed or taken care of.  
"What's that?" Jim had asked, taking her plate away and putting it in the dispenser.  
"I need a father" she said, looking up at him expectantly.  
"A father?" Jim repeated, not sure he knew what she meant. She couldn't mean it literally.  
"Yes. To walk me down the isle" she clarified. They were now on their way back down to her quarters.  
"Oh!" She was still staring at him.  
"Well?"  
"Well what?" he laughed. What did she want him to do, somehow go back in time a retrieve her father for her? But she was looking at him expectantly and he suddenly realized what she wanted from him.  
"Uh, Deneb...my parents...aren't living anymore" he told her. She paused.  
"Oh. Well, then I guess I'll have to ask Scotty" she said as if he had just said there weren't any eggs for the cake. He happened to be down in engineering when Deneb made her request.  
"Lassie! Why, I'd be glad ta walk ya down the aisle!" Scotty nearly shouted. He adored Deneb as an uncle might adore an enthusiastic niece. It had stared with their initial meeting, but his approval had been cemented when she'd asked him to teach her a few things about "the way things work around here." She was an apt student, if she had to work hard at what she learned.  
"I was never one for math and things" she sighed one day while she was doing some "homework." But with some help from Jim (that wasn't much help at all) and Spock she managed to get the basics down. She'd also taken some medical training with Bones.  
"You never know" they'd both said  
So now here Jim, Spock and Bones stood, waiting around for the next fifteen minutes to creep by so that they could get started. Deneb had insisted on leaving the ceremony open to whomever wanted to come.  
"After all, Jim, they're your crew and my friends. And they're the only family the two of us have" was the argument that had won him over. Therefore, there was a rather large crowd in the Chapel. He felt more like they were spectators, paying for seats at a good matinee and he was the star on stage.  
"What time is it?" he asked, probably for the fiftieth time.  
"There is still five minutes before the ceremony will begin" Spock answered. Jim rubbed his palms on his dress uniform.  
"Maybe we should get out there" Bone suggested. Spock inclined his head and Bones pushed Jim after him. There were indeed quite a few of the crewmen there. Bones stood behind Jim, ready to chase after him in case the skittish Captain decided to bolt. But five minutes later his friend was still standing there and a soft song began playing over the com system. It wasn't the wedding march, as Bones had expected or as Spock had thought traditional in human weddings. Deneb, while wanting a wedding in her own faith, wasn't one to stick to strict tradionalism. None of the gathered, except Jim, recognized the tune for it was one of Deneb's favorite songs and so from the 20th century. (Sarah McLachlan's /Angel/)  
Uhura and Rand were her bridesmaids. They wore ankle length dresses in emerald green, Deneb's favorite color. (The men were, of course, in dress uniforms.) Jim had it on authority that Deneb had designed them herself. They each carried a bouquet of lilacs and wisteria, which the hydroponics had been growing for the past couple of weeks.  
And then she appeared in the doorway. Her hair was hanging down her back, her skin was glowing in the soft light and her emerald eyes sparkled above her happy little smile. She was looking right at him. Uhura and Rand had helped her with her wedding dress, and a wedding dress it was. It was all white, apparently made of satin. It was simple enough, without embroidery or beading but it fit Deneb perfectly. The extravagance seemed to be the fluffy skirt which barely fit between the aisle between the seats.  
But her eyes were locked with his and he felt a peace stealing over him. No doubt straight from her, for she looked as peaceful as he'd ever seen her. And then she was beside him and Spock had started speaking.  
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered her to witness the union between this man and this woman...."  
Her hand was in his, though the other held her beloved lilacs and wisteria, and her warmth spread through him. She wasn't shaking, which slightly surprised him. He had thought most brides were so nervous they got stomachaches. Of course, Deneb would be different.  
They had to face each other to speak their vows and Jim found he almost couldn't speak, wanting to simply stare at her beauty. He managed somehow, and somehow got the ring on her finger without dropping it. And then Spock was saying the final words.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduced to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Kirk" Jim kissed his her, and she was his wife. 


	11. An Arguement or Two

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
++"What did you expect, Jim? A fairy tale?"++  
  
Starfleet had no quibbles. There was nothing they could do about it anyway. They had already agreed that Deneb should stay on the Enterprise, and the marriage would not interfere with the work of the Captain. Many captains in Starfleet were married and so there was no reason they could deny James T. Kirk the right, even though more admirals than not believed he'd put himself in a bad situation.  
Life on the Enterprise, however, was going along swimmingly. Nothing had changed drastically, as to ship life anyway. Life for James T. Kirk had changed dramatically, but it was all for the better, or so he believed. Deneb had no possessions, refusing most gifts and not acquiring anything on her own, so when she moved into his quarters he hadn't had to give anything up to storage. She did have her own system of cleaning and "keeping things tidy" but it was nothing Jim was unwilling to bend to.  
The new couple most often spent their evenings in the company of Spock and Bones, nothing unusual. Life settled into something that could have been interpreted as routine. Both Bones and Spock privately thought Deneb was just what the Captain had needed, though it had been a need neither one had been aware of. They had always though Jim was in love with the ship and that it was what sustained him through his life, which was partially true. But ever since the death of his brother and sister-in-law, he had seemed to be feeling his loneliness more and more, especially in the nights and when they were on routine missions. Deneb was the respite from that crushing feeling of irrelevance. While Bones knew James T. Kirk was made to be the Captain of Starfleet's flagship, he also knew that Jim Kirk was made to be a husband and father, probably to a large and obnoxious brood. Which would serve his friend right, being large and obnoxious himself. These were insights that Spock had to come by more painfully, not having the benefit of hunches and emotional understanding. (Though he could understand emotion, intellectually)  
At any rate, the ship was a more amiable work place now that the Captain had finally found his perfect niche. Deneb did her best to learn, trying to "catch up" a little. She had a working understanding of some basics, most of which she had learned aboard the previous Enterprise, under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer and his Vulcan delegate, T'Pol. Both Bones and Scotty found her an eager student, though there was only so much they could impart on her because she was such a slow learner.  
"She's not slow" Jim had defended his new wife one night at the dinner table with Bones.  
"No, I'm not slow, Jim. It just takes me longer to learn" she winked at Bones because she'd just said that she was "slow".  
"It's complicated material" Jim muttered but decided not to argue. He had tried, once or twice, to argue with his wife and found her to be immoveable as a mountain. Or a star. Or a woman. The first he had been trying to discern her age. She stoutly refused to tell him.  
"Physically, she's a healthy young adult" Bones said. Jim had frowned at him.  
"I'm a doctor, Jim, not a psychic" Bones had spouted, "She could be anywhere between seventeen and twenty five according to these read outs" Normally Bones could be almost on the dot and Jim wondered if he were protecting his young (yes, he knew she was young. Too young) wife.  
The second was about her being on the ship. They'd run into a battle with some Romulans, which had left her with a nasty cut one her arm (she'd been building a set at the time) and some bad bruising elsewhere. He'd suddenly become aware of just how precious, and fragile, she was.  
"Jim Kirk, don't you dare argue with me!" she had bellowed loudly in a tone that demanded obedience. But Jim wasn't Captain for nothing and he matched her tone.  
"What happens the next time? What if it isn't just some cuts and bruises?" he had demanded. She was going to some, nice, safe planet where he could be sure no harm would come to her. Preferably Earth, in Iowa, where he knew people that could watch over her for him while he was away. He hated the idea of being away from her, but he hated the idea of being without her even more.  
"I am staying right here on this ship" she had declared and that had been the end of that conversation. He had turned to Spock and Bones and when neither one of them would help (Spock because it was simply illogical, Bones because he simply didn't want her to go) he appealed to Starfleet Command. She wasn't Starfleet personnel, however, and she was causing no disturbance aboard ship so they couldn't withdraw their permission for her to stay on board. Somehow Deneb had found out about his appeal and refused to even speak to him for three days.  
"Bones, you're her friend, talk to her! Tell her I had to try!" Jim pleaded.  
"Why? If I were her I would've at least punched you!" Bones said and turned away to aid his patient.  
The three days passed however and, though she made it clear she was still severely disappointed and enraged at him, life went on. Still, over the course of two months of marriage, Jim knew what his wife was capable of and that arguing with her would eventually bring no results what so ever.  
These incidents were far from his mind, however, one night when she came home with a huge grin upon her face.  
"What's got you so happy?" he asked immediately, pulling her into his arms and giving her a good husbandly kiss.  
"Where do you think we'll be in nine months?" she asked, tracing her fingers around on his chest.  
"I don't know, why?" he replied, not sure why she would want to know something like that. She had never asked about their missions before.  
"Oh, I was just wondering how far away from Earth we would be when our children were born" she answered, her tone indicating it was just a trivial thought. But Jim suddenly felt excitement flaring up in his heart.  
"De, are you?!" he pushed the question out all in one breath, he was so anxious for the answer. She nodded vigorously, her grin getting even bigger. He whooped in joy, picked her up and swirled her around. He kissed her soundly and put her back on her feet.  
"Oh, I shouldn't have done that" he suddenly realized, worried that he might have hurt her or the baby.  
"Wait, you said children, plural" She nodded.  
"Twins. Bones was sure" she admitted, "There are lots of twins in my family, so I'm not surprised."  
"Twins!" His joy was doubled, if that was possible. He knew, in the back of his mind, that this would mean changes. They couldn't raise two children on the Enterprise, but he wasn't thinking about it now. For now he was just ecstatic that he was going to be a father.  
That night at dinner he made the official announcement. Deneb let him do it, content herself to sit beside him, glowing. Many congratulations were given from everyone, especially Rand and Uhura, who had become close friends of Deneb's.  
"Congratulations, Captain, Deneb" Spock inclined his head, his equivalent of shaking hands.  
"May both children be born healthy and spirited"  
"With these two for parents, I've no doubt of that, Spock" Bones said but then smiled happily at Deneb, "It will be my immense joy to deliver your children, Deneb, darling" He winked at his word play.  
"And I suppose it will be your immense joy to have me in Sickbay at least once a week to make sure I'm getting along just fine, eh, Bones?" she responded with a quirked eyebrow. While she was quite willing to learn as much as she could from Bones, she hated being a patient. She was almost worse than her husband, who Bones had to order to report for his physicals.  
"It will indeed" he nodded, knowing it wouldn't be at all.  
"Have you thought about any names yet?" Uhura asked.  
"Bones couldn't tell for sure, but it will probably be a boy and a girl" Deneb answered, "That's how they run in my family"  
"James Tiberus Kirk the Second!" Jim tried the name out.  
"Excuse me?" Deneb turned on him.  
"For the boy" Jim explained.  
"I'm so sorry, Captain, but it is tradition within my family to give names beginning with a 'D'" She had a stern look on her face.  
"Oh?" Jim asked, an amused look on his face at first. When hers didn't change he realized she was being completely serious and he had better not joke about it.  
"My mother was Dawn Allisa, her maiden name was Darwin. My father was Daniel Michael, so those names are out. My brother was David Mathew so those are out too" she started naming all of her relatives, all with names that started with "d's". Jim didn't know where they'd come up with so many d names and he didn't know where they'd come up with any more.  
"I know!" she suddenly cried, in the middle of the night, two days later. He grumpily sat up on his elbows, waiting for whatever it was she knew.  
"Damia and Damian!" she declared.  
"What happened to James Tiberus Kirk the Second?" he asked groggily.  
"Jim Kirk, don't argue with your wife!" Deneb cautioned him. He laid his head back on the pillow.  
"Yes, ma'am" 


	12. Not Quite a Fairy Tale Ending

The Hopper The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vain, Star Trek and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
++"In the arms of an Angel, May you find some comfort here"++  
--Sarah MacLachlan  
  
She'd been on board a year now. She'd finally let herself believe that she had stopped hopping. It was over and she could go on with life now. It was surely a tale she'd be able to tell her grandchildren though. She could just here them.  
"Grandma, how did you meet Grandpa?" they'd ask.  
"Well, it all started when I was sixteen" she'd say and they would sit at her feet and listen while she told the story, deleting the parts inappropriate for such young children of course.  
She was three months pregnant. She was right in the middle of her morning sickness and just starting her mood swings. With twins, she was just starting to show though Bones said most women didn't until much later.  
  
"I have a feeling these are going to be very large babies" he told her, which did not improve her mood any. She could just imagine giving birth to two huge babies.  
She continued to work, she was directing "A Street Car Named Desire" by Tenesse Williams and had organized three different musical performances set to be held in the next three weeks. She had recruited a couple of crewmen to help her with the newspaper, which was much in demand as a ship wide discussion board. People submitted poetry, short stories, editor's letters and individual reports or articles on various aspects of the ship or on conferences they'd been to recently.  
Her work, however, had it's own set of frustrations and in her enhanced emotional state they grated on Deneb. She refused to explode at any of the people on her crews, however, knowing rationally that she was being irrational. This, however, meant that the slightest provocation, and sometimes even without any at all, she would explode at Jim. Or even Bones or Spock.  
"I can't stand it any more! What am I going to do with her?" Jim applied to Bones one night after he'd barely escaped his quarters where Deneb had started throwing things at him for no apparent reason. They had run out of vases last week and so it had been dishes which still contained the last of their dinner.  
"You've got another six months of it, friend" Bones had told him with no empathy at all, "What did you want, Jim? A fairy tale? They always skip that part in the fairy tales"  
Of course, it wasn't all bad. When she was happy she was very happy and her happiness radiated through the ship. It was during one of these moods that she enlisted both Bones and Spock as surrogate uncles to her children.  
"Look, you two are the closest we've got to family and I will not have my children grow up deprived of some kind of extended family" she had said when both had tried to demure. At that they had both agreed and Bones, at least, delved into his role. He even tried to use it to get her into sickbay on the designated days.  
"Look here, I want to make sure my niece and nephew are perfectly fine, if that's not too much to ask" he tried one day. She was still resistant.  
"For God's sake, woman, I'm a doctor not a witch!" She smiled slightly at this and so she went.  
"She's fine, Jim, there's nothing wrong with her at all" the Doctor then had to assure the expectant father when he'd become worried about how many trips his wife had been making to Sickbay.  
After another month most of the morning sickness had dissipated and Deneb had a little more control over her mood swings. Things were settling down nicely and the two happy parents began planning for the future. Jim wanted to hold off his request for transfer until the last possible second. He didn't want to leave the Enterprise and everyone knew it.  
"It's fine" Deneb said, "I promised Bones he could deliver the babies anyway"  
Time travel, in the unusual manner anyway, was the farthest thing from all of their minds. Which is why Deneb was so surprised one evening, while she was brushing her hair out before getting ready for bed. She fingered the necklace Jim had given her for her birthday, only a few weeks after they'd been married. She never took it off. It was a small silver Enterprise emblem on a thin silver chain. She treasured it. She had another one for the daughter she would deliver for him and a ring with the same symbol for their son. She kept one in each of her pockets at all times.  
Jim was clearing away some tea cups and data pads at the other end of their quarters. Deneb suddenly turned towards him, the brush dropping from her hand.  
"Jim!" she cried, absolute terror in her voice.  
"What?" he asked immediately, hearing the terror. It was reinforced on her face. Tears were brimming in her eyes. She could feel /it/.  
"Jim!" she cried again, mournfully this time. She started towards him and so he moved to her, arms stretched out. He didn't know what was wrong but he had to console her, do whatever he had to to make it better, to clear away her pain.  
Their fingers brushed, a split second before she disappeared.  
  
*Do you want to know what happens to Deneb next? Check out "Pitt Stop" in Next Gen., and "Home Sweet Home", later, in Voyager!* 


End file.
